


How to Date Chara Dreemurr in Five Easy Steps!

by Annoying_Fan



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Chara Has Their Own Body, Don't Trust Shady Emails Though, Fluff, Frisk Trusting Shady Emails but it Works Out, Happy Ending, Hopefully Decent Fluff?, Love Confessions, Maybe a tiny bit of angst, Non-Binary Chara, Non-Binary Frisk, Other, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route - "I want to stay with you.", The Nigerian Prince is a Lie, charisk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-23 12:40:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 20,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14332662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annoying_Fan/pseuds/Annoying_Fan
Summary: Taking place a vague number of years after the breaking of the barrier in a timeline where Frisk somehow managed to save Chara and Asriel, things have settled down a lot since the monsters were freed from beneath Mt. Ebott. Frisk has developed an attraction to Chara that go beyond a sibling-like affection, but doesn't know what to do with their feelings. But when they receive a dubious email that outlines a five-step process for how they might get together with Chara, Frisk decides to give it a shot. After all, all they have to lose is their dignity, one of their closest friends, and a non-awkward home environment, right?





	1. Step One: Ask Your Friends for Help!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! This is my first Undertale fanfiction ever, as well as the first fanfic I've written in several years. Since it's been such a long time since I've done much of anything in the way of creative writing, I would really appreciate any feedback and constructive criticism that could be offered. My own writing has always felt stilted and artificial to me, and so I can never tell whether it's actually awkward writing or just my own bias. Other comments are also welcome, of course, and I'll happily hold conversation with you through the comments section if you want to talk.
> 
> I played Undertale for the first time a couple months ago, and absolutely fell in love with the game. It's amazing, and after I finished it I started binging hard on a lot of fan works. I want to contribute stories of my own, so hopefully I'll have plenty more stories to come in time. I'm unrepentant charisk trash, so the bulk of my stories will probably focus on these two precious beans in some context or another.
> 
> I have a (very) rough outline of how this story will go already put together, and I expect to fill five or six chapters. I don't know how frequently updates will come, but I'm going to do my best to not leave this fanfic unfinished.

_Step One: Ask your friends for help! Chances are, you might be too embarrassed or nervous about your crush to fairly consider how you should approach them. If you have mutual friends that know both you and your crush, they can probably give you helpful advice. Maybe your crush feels the same way and you haven't noticed? Maybe they know the best way for you to romantically approach your target? Maybe they can help set you up in the perfect situation to tell your crush how you feel? Just make sure that you only talk to friends that you trust the most, or else they might go blabbing your secret before you're ready!_

* * *

Normally, Frisk would have ignored an email with a sketchy title like that. Alphys had given all of the kids a lengthy lesson on internet safety, at Toriel’s request, and part of that included not even opening emails from dubious or unfamiliar sources. Frisk really didn’t even need Alphys’ instruction to know this was probably just click-bait.

But the pajama-clad tween sat still at the desk early in the morning, staring at the screen nervously instead of just deleting the email from their spambox.

“How to Date your Young, Angry, Nonbinary Human Friend in 5 Easy Steps!”, it said.

Was this a joke? Frisk considered the possibility that some malicious hacker had been spying on them, learning their secret crush so they could send a virus-laden email tailored to catch their attention, before dismissing the idea as ridiculous. The internet was a scary place, but it wasn’t quite that scary. The child looked over the shoulder, making sure no one else was around, and despite the knot in their stomach telling them it was a bad idea, Frisk’s curiosity guided them to open the email.

Their browser didn’t flood with new tabs. There was no pop-up window saying, “Downloading Virus Now!!” in bright, flashing letters. The computer didn’t burst into flames, either. All good signs that suggested the email was legitimate, or at least free of embedded malware. Frisk swallowed the lump in their throat as they read over the digitized text.

Five easy steps? It seemed like malarkey, too good to be true. Frisk knew by now that they fancied Chara in a way that went beyond friendship but had no idea what do with these feelings. Frisk would catch themselves daydreaming about being alone with Chara on a near daily basis now, longing for those days from the Underground when Chara was always with them, sustained in their mind by a shared soul. Frisk wasn’t certain when they had moved beyond a mere fondness for their friend, but they knew they were now hopelessly smitten with them and equally clueless on what to do about it. Could it really be as simple as five easy steps?

Frisk patiently read over the email once, twice, three times even, still unsure whether this was nonsense or real advice. It seemed like good advice, as much as the inexperienced child would know what good dating advice looked like. So maybe, even if it was coming from a shady source, it could still work?

“Frisk, stop dawdling and get ready for school, or else we will have to leave you behind.” came the sudden calling of Chara’s voice from the doorway, shocking Frisk out of their thoughts. They shot up from the chair with a small shout, standing between their sibling and the computer screen before realizing that Asriel was there too. Chara looked back to Asriel with a small amount of confusion, and the goat-child shrugged his shoulders in response.

“Uh, I… Thank you, I-“ Frisk stammered to try and play off their overreaction, but when their eyes darted to the hallway clock over Chara and Asriel’s heads, Frisk squeaked in surprise again. 7:38? They really were going to be late if they didn’t hurry! “Thank you! Sorry! I’ll hurry!” exclaimed Frisk, quickly moving to shut the bedroom door in their siblings’ face to change out of their pajamas.

Frisk could hear the muffled sound of Chara saying something to Asriel and footsteps leaving the door as they frantically threw clean clothes on and packed their bookbag. Ready to go in record time, Frisk paused only to hastily close their email before rushing downstairs to meet their family in the kitchen. Frisk’s heart hammered in their chest already; they could die of embarrassment if anyone saw what had distracted them so.

Chara already had their backpack dangling from one arm as they waited impatiently, foot tapping against the linoleum, while Asriel was grabbing dirty plates and silverware from the table to transfer to Toriel’s waiting paws at the sink. “My child!” Frisk heard Toriel call as their feet stomped down the stairs in a rush. “Please, you must try not to lag behind in the mornings! Did you sleep in?”

Frisk twisted their fingers together and looked down to the ground, shaking their head as they listened to Toriel’s admonishment over the sound of dishes clinking together in the empty sink. Their eyes caught sight of motion in the peripherals and Frisk looked up to see a brown paper bag being held out to them. Their guilt at holding their family up evaporated in an instant as they followed the sight up Toriel’s arms and to her affectionate smile. “Well, no matter. You appear to be ready now, though I’m afraid you’ll have to take breakfast with you in the car. Hurry now, we must leave quickly.” The quietest Dreemurr child returned Toriel’s smile and took the bagged breakfast.

As the four of them left the house and piled into the family Goatmobile (a beat-up yet nonetheless reliable old van whose purple paintjob always reminded Frisk of the ruins), the sounds of morning birds, clicking seatbelts, and a revving engine were the only noises in the air until Asriel ask the inevitable question. “Frisk,” he started, “What were you looking at on the computer that took so long?” Even with Frisk sitting in the front passenger seat- a clear view of the road ahead helped alleviate the car sickness that Frisk was unfortunately prone to- Asriel couldn’t miss the way they flinched at the question.

“It was nothing,” lied Frisk, before biting their lip and correcting themselves, “Nothing important, I mean. I had a lot of spam to clear out of my email.” Frisk was a terrible liar, but little half-truths like that were much easier to appease their family with. Chara scoffed from behind them, and Frisk strained against their seatbelt to turn around and look. “You know, you can delete them all at once Frisk. You do not need to throw them away one by one.” Chara’s auburn bangs obscured most of Chara’s turned face from Frisk as they stared out the window, but Frisk watched their mouth move while they spoke.

Chara’s hands were wrapped around the black backpack in their lap as they fiddled in annoyance with the hem of their undershirt’s long, white sleeve. Frisk had already seen that Chara was wearing their green and yellow vest today, but glancing aside to see Asriel staring back at them Frisk realized for the first time that the two of them were matching today. The time of year for sweaters and heavy denim jeans had long since passed, to the lamentation of the whole Dreemurr household. While Chara and Frisk simply preferred sweaters and thick clothing, the two boss monsters truly suffered in the warming May weather. The windows were down to allow a breeze to wash over everyone, but a breeze could only help so much when the air itself was already hot.

Frisk traded smiles with Asriel and turned back into their seat before the van could reach the lurching, hilly parts of the drive that were always hardest on their stomach. They lived close to Mt. Ebott in the outskirts of the eponymously named town of Ebott’s Shadow, where most of the monsters had moved after leaving the Underground and where most of the monsters still lived. The roads outside of the town’s innermost residentials and business district weren’t usually very straight or… well-maintained, although if Frisk ever complained Chara was quick to follow up with a reminder that these roads were hardly more that dirt trails back when they were alive. When they were first alive…

Frisk could hear Asriel complaining about the heat to Chara and Chara countering with humor that they could shave Asriel’s fur off after school today, and it was the same routine conversation they had at least once a week on the way to school. Asriel would overreact at some barb from Chara, Chara and Frisk would laugh before Frisk reassured Asriel for Chara (only reluctantly would Chara compromise their “tough kid” persona to comfort Asriel or Frisk unless they were alone, even if they wanted to), then Frisk in turn would help Asriel tease Chara, and Toriel would turn on the radio once they were far enough out of the sticks to get more than static to distract the three of them before any teasing could go too far. Frisk, Asriel, and Toriel loved to sing along to the radio in the car even if they were no good at it and despite Chara refusing to sing with them, they all knew Chara preferred it over a silent ride too.

But today Frisk was too lost in thought to play their part in the conversation. Reflections of powerline poles and overgrown grass reflected in glazed over brown eyes as Frisk stared blankly ahead at the road, contemplating Chara’s past. Not their past with the Dreemurrs, after falling into the Underground- the past before that, the one Chara still didn’t like to talk about. The Bad Days. They were always tight-lipped about those days, refusing to share anything more than the smallest and most trivial of details with anyone. No one knew what Chara’s life was before Mt. Ebott, but they could all tell what it was like: unpleasant, to say the least.

Frisk didn’t have a great life before being adopted by the Dreemurrs either- even running around in the Underground had been more fun overall, despite the plentiful pile of unpleasantness mixed in there too. It was something that, try as they might, Toriel and Asriel and all their monster friends couldn’t really relate to. At first, they weren’t hesitant to talk about their own Bad Days. The sympathetic words and pitying looks were… comforting, in a way, but at the same time not comforting. Frisk eventually came to understand why Chara didn’t like to talk about the Bad Days. And yet, at the same time, Frisk couldn’t help but wonder from time to time if Chara’s Bad Days were similar to theirs and whether Chara ever thought the same thing.

Frisk didn’t realize they were subconsciously rubbing circles over an old cigarette burn hidden beneath their sleeve until they were snapped back to reality by the touch of a furry paw on their shoulder. “We have arrived, my child.” said Toriel softly, the statement punctuated on cue by the sound of backseat car doors opening. Toriel smiled reassuringly to Frisk, as if she knew what had been distracting them. She probably did, Frisk mused, before returning the smile.

By the time Frisk was out of the Goatmobile with all their belongings, Asriel had already announced that he would be the first one inside and taken off. Frisk and Chara shared a surprised look before dashing on themselves, shouting after Asriel about cheating and head starts. Toriel called for them to slow down and be careful, crowded as the front of the school was at this time of morning, but the laughter in her own voice couldn’t be contained. Just like that, the thought of Bad Days had already faded from Frisk’s mind.

* * *

Soon enough students and teachers alike had found their way into their classrooms and another school day like any other had started. Frisk, Asriel, and Chara shared several class periods together but not all of them, to their mutual dismay. In first period, Frisk was without their siblings for History class. The curriculum called for a "comprehensive overview of world history and national history as it fit within, plus primers on monster history that ran chronologically parallel"… And it was all dreadfully boring, as far as Frisk was concerned. The presence of the monster kid from the Underground one desk over was a helpful distraction, but being the child of a teacher meant there was no room for slacking off in class… or at least no room for getting caught doing it.

When Frisk was sure the teacher wasn’t looking, they tossed a crumpled-up ball of paper to Emkay’s desk. The orange, dinosaur-like monster was quick to unwrap the note behind his textbook. “ _Does Chara like me?_ ” Emkay immediately writes in his answer with a pencil-shaped magic bullet, but Frisk has to wait a few minutes for the monster to find an opportunity for passing the note back without the teacher noticing.

“ _Yeah dude they obviously like you. Your their sib remember?_ ” Frisk shakes their head over the unfurled paper, scribbling down a clarifying response and passing the re-crumpled paper in a swift motion while the teacher is writing something on the blackboard about old European wars.

“ _I mean like like me_ ”

A look of understanding dawns on Emkay’s face as he nods to himself before turning to stare at Frisk. Frisk stares back at Emkay, a blush steadily growing the longer Emkay continues to awkwardly stare. ‘ _Oh no._ ’ thought Frisk, ‘ _This was weird, wasn’t it? I shouldn’t have asked him. Why did I listen to that dumb email?_ ’ They forced themselves to break away from Emkay’s gaze, facing forward in the classroom lest the teacher notice Frisk isn’t paying attention. A bubbling stew of embarrassment, regret, and worry churns in Frisk’s gut, and it doesn’t go away even after the wadded-up ball of paper bounces off their head and falls on their desk. Frisk doesn’t even take the time to read Emkay’s reply before hastily trying to backpedal and save face.

“ _That was weird right? Ignore it okay? Please dont tell Chara!_ ” A little frowny face doodled next to Frisk’s hand-writing serves to emphasis for Emkay just how dire the situation is to Frisk. But Emkay is quick to bat the ball of paper back to Frisk, and this time Frisk is waiting for it. They can see the supportive look on Emkay’s face, and that puts the child more at ease.

When they flatten out the paper again, they can see that Emkay hasn’t written a new message, but just circled his old one. This time, Frisk reads it. “ _Maybe dude. You want to talk at lunch?_ ” Frisk sighs, realizing that they were being too hasty, too embarrassed. The thick emotional sludge was still stirring in Frisk’s stomach, but they nod to Emkay before stuffing the ball of paper out of sight in their pocket. Frisk weakly returns the smile Emkay gives them and then lays their head down over crossed arms, shrinking in on themselves. Embarrassing as that was- and if it was that embarrassing just talking to Emkay about it how are they going to tell Chara- their own overreaction told Frisk that the email was at least right about them being too nervous to think reasonably about this.

* * *

The rest of the morning crawls by at a snail’s pace; History, English, Music, Science all drag on, but Frisk pays attention to little of it. Even Music class, Frisk’s favorite morning class, is hard to give any attention to because Frisk is seated right next to Chara. With infatuation weighing so heavily on their mind, the only way for Frisk to keep from stealing glances at Chara is to spend most of the class period reading and re-reading the same brightly-colored educational posters on the wall.

But eventually, the lunch bell rings. Human and monster children alike flood eagerly out of their classes, and Frisk gravitates towards their familiar spot next to Asriel, Chara, and Emkay… but one of Frisk’s three friends is nowhere to be seen.

“Yo dude, it’s okay. Chara’s gonna be busy for a while.” said Emkay as soon as he notices Frisk approaching. He chuckles like he knows a funny joke, but the way he leans around Frisk to look at the cafeteria doors, just making sure Chara isn’t coming yet, makes Frisk wonder if he’s done something he’s going to regret. Asriel seems to wonder the same thing, considering the way he nudges Emkay’s shoulder. “Wait, what did you do?” asks the goat-child in a hushed tone.

Frisk sits down with their plastic tray of food but isn’t patient enough to find out. If Chara’s indisposed somehow or another, then now is the time to talk. “Asriel, have you ever asked someone out on a date before?” Asriel’s look of confusion clears up at Frisk’s question, and he’s quick to let Emkay off the hook. “Oh.” he says with a knowing smile that Frisk doesn’t like. “This is ab-“

“Asriel, have you ever asked someone out before?” says Frisk again, interrupting their brother to repeat the question when it seems he isn’t going to answer, stressing the question this time. His brow twists up in surprise as Frisk interrupts him, and after he shakes his head both of them look to Emkay. “No way dudes. I don’t even know how.”

Asriel swiftly presses for his turn to ask a question, picking up a fork out of his mashed potatoes and pointing it at Frisk. “Golly, this IS about Chara, isn’t it?” he asks, with that same smug grin from before. Frisk opens their mouth to reply, but the words catch in their throat. Did he already know? Was it obvious? What if _Chara_ already knew? With a storm of questions and uncertainties flooding into their head, Frisk must nod instead. “Ah-ha,” he starts, “I knew it. You _do_ have crush on Chara, don’t you?”

Frisk seems to wilt in front of Asriel and Emkay, head sinking into their shoulders and shoulders slump towards the table. They look away as a blush lights up their face, preferring to stare anywhere but at their friends right now. Biting their lip nervously, Frisk nods again to answer when words fail them.

Emkay is quick to stand up from their seat, stars in his eyes as he shouts with excitement, but Frisk is even quicker to pull out of their embarrassed slouch and cover Emkay’s mouth. “YOOO, DU-“ “S-sh! Emkay!” hushes Frisk, face still flushed as they hold a single silencing finger in gesture over their mouth with the other hand. Several seconds pass before Frisk peels their hand away from the monster’s face, when they look around to see a few other kids staring at them because of Emkay’s outburst. “SH!” Frisk hushes Emkay again, just to make sure the message is clear. Asriel stares with amusement at both of them. Frisk regrets this conversation already and wishes they could disappear, but there’s nothing to do except push forward now.

The child sinks back into their seat with a heavy sigh, lazily opening their milk carton and then closing it again just to keep their fidgety hands busy. “Yeah,” they mumble softly, “I’m pretty sure I like Chara a lot. I don’t know how to tell them though.” Asriel chews thoughtfully on a mouthful of potato while Emkay stares at Frisk from beside them. “Yo, so you wanna… you wanna kiss Chara, right?” asks Emkay with a strained hush, making Frisk groan with embarrassment as their stomach flips again. They didn’t answer the question, but they didn’t have to.

“Do either of you two have crushes?” Frisk asks, hopeful that they might find some solidarity with Asriel or Emkay if either of them can relate to Frisk's situation. The question catches both monsters off guard, inspiring curiosity and flushed emotions alike. The two glance at each other for a moment and then look away from their companions just as Frisk had done before, intoning the same answer at the same time. “Yeah…”

Frisk takes solace in the fact that they aren’t the only one squirming in their seat, and manages to feel a little less embarrassed.

“So, who is it?” needles Frisk, probing for more information to even the playing field, as it were. “He’s, uh… He’s a cool dude.” says Emkay evasively, while Asriel tries to pull his long ears over his face to hide his blush. It fails miserably, since the thicker fur on his face means Asriel’s ears look redder than his face. It becomes obvious he’s not going to answer when he abruptly steers the conversation back to the subject of Frisk and Chara. “Come on Frisk, that doesn’t matter, does it?”

Frisk is pretty sure the flimsy cardboard milk carton can’t take much more abuse at their hands, so they carefully tug open the back end to drink from before sighing. “No, I guess it doesn’t. But how would you guys tell your crushes that you like them?” Asriel _conveniently_ has a mouth full of way too much mashed potato- in fact, it looks like he cleaned all that was left of it from his tray- and stares at Emkay. There was no danger of choking on magic food, since it dissolved almost as soon as you tried to swallow it, but Toriel would have chided him for it anyway.

Emkay takes the hint. “Dude, I don’t even know.” he says with uncertainty, round and squishy face creased in concentration as he thinks about it while staring down at his own food. “If… If I were gonna tell him,” continued Emkay with his quietest inside voice, so that Frisk and Asriel had to strain to hear him, “I’d want to tell him somewhere alone. I’d… probably just blurt it out at him and hope for the best, dude.”

Asriel swallows the last of his ridiculous mouthful while staring at Emkay. “Well, duh. Of course you want to talk to them alone.” His eyes turn to look back over to Frisk while he talks. “I mean, you can’t confess in front of other people. Especially not if you’re confessing to someone like Chara.” Asriel has Frisk’s full attention while he speaks. “If you put them on the spot in front of other people like that, they’re just gonna shut down.” Frisk nods, having figured the same themselves.

“Yeah, and there’s no way I could tell Chara with anyone else around anyway. What about you Azzy, how would you talk to your crush?” Frisk is half looking for any advice they could get, and half hoping to get some clues about their adoptive brother’s own mysterious infatuation. Asriel looks unprepared to answer the question and fidgets in his seat, playing with an ear. “Uh… I… don’t know?” Frisk sighs at the useless answer.

“Yo, but Frisk! Aren’t you really good at flirting, and stuff? It should be easy for you to tell Chara how you feel, yo.” interjects Emkay. “It’s not the same thing, Emkay. It’s easy to flirt. You just say something nice, and then they smile, and then you smile, and everyone is happy. It’s not the same thing at all.” Frisk stares at the bottom of their recently emptied milk carton, as if they’d find an easy answer to their conundrum inside. They only look up when Asriel speaks. “You stopped flirting with Chara.” he says suddenly, looking serious as could be.

“Huh?” Frisk wasn’t certain where Asriel was going with this. “You stopped flirting with Chara.” Asriel repeats, “That’s how I could tell you had a crush on Chara. They’d always get really embarrassed when you did that and make a big deal out of it, remember? I’m sure they know you stopped, but I bet they never thought about why you stopped.”

With that clarification from the goat-child, Frisk shakily nods. “Yeah. Yeah, I… When I realized I, you know, _like_ Chara, I stopped flirting with them. It started feeling weird. Normally when I flirt, I don’t really mean it? I mean, I do mean it, but I don’t mean it romantically, you know?” Frisk’s companions nodded in understanding. It made sense to them, but they didn’t have anything to add to it. The lull gave Frisk a moment to pick at their so far untouched food. With a stomach full of butterflies, Frisk didn’t have much room for lunch (even if none of it would actually reach their stomach).

After the pause started to drag on awkwardly, Frisk spoke up again. There was still one question they really had to ask. “Azzy, do you think… Do you think Chara likes me the same way?” asked the savior of the Underground, holding their breath like waiting for this answer was a task too difficult to bear. Fortunately, it seemed Asriel was ready for that one and he answered immediately.

“Yeah. I think they do.” A wave of giddy relief and excitement washed over Frisk as they looked at their brother like they’d just given him an amazing gift. The look on Frisk’s face was practically radiant. Asriel knew Chara. He knew Chara really well. If he thought Chara liked Frisk back… The only thing more reassuring would have been to hear Chara say it themselves. But Asriel had more to say and he continued without missing a beat. “I’m pretty sure Chara likes you too Frisk, but I’m not sure if they know it yet.”

“What? Dude, how can they not know if they like Frisk back?” asked Emkay, Frisk themselves still too happy to question it. “Chara is… uh, how do I say this…” Asriel had to take a moment to pick the right words, a moment which he spent watching Frisk excitedly bounce in their seat with hands flapping on the table. His sibling’s excitement made him smile too, and he hoped dearly that he wasn’t wrong.

“Chara is really good at playing dumb and pretending not to know stuff. They’re so good at it that I think sometimes they fool themselves.” The explanation went over Emkay’s head, but Frisk understood exactly what Asriel meant. After all, they had shared a head and a SOUL with Chara for so very long. The symbolism of Chara being sustained by Frisk’s heart(-shaped SOUL) was not lost on Frisk, and the thought set again a reddish hue to their smiling face. With pink cheeks and a happy smile, Frisk looked ironically reminiscent of Chara.

Asriel was pleased to see Frisk reassured again. He didn’t like seeing them shrinking in on themselves like they were before. Frisk’s embarrassment was funny, but not when it was being strangled by worry and self-doubt. It looked like Emkay was similarly invigorated by Frisk’s relief, and he shared some of his pep with human child. “Frisk, dude, you gotta tell them now, right?” he said, struggling to keep his voice a whisper despite the contagious excitement.

“Yeah. Yeah! I’m gonna tell Chara. I’m gonna tell Chara that I love them!” said Frisk quietly, working through the statement as if practicing it. Asriel leaned in close and whispered to Frisk, saying, “Gosh, if you’re decided then you should tell them when we get home from school today! I’ll give you two some space and distract Mom, so don’t worry about interruptions!” Asriel gave Frisk a thumbs-up, which Frisk eagerly returned.

And then Chara’s tray dropped onto the table. “Greetings.”

All three of the kids looked up suddenly, faces caught half way between excitement and dread. But it didn’t seem like Chara had heard any of the conversation- no, from the way Chara’s eye twitched and their lips pursed tightly into a clearly forced smile, it seemed Chara was entirely distracted by something else. Despite Chara’s obvious anger, Frisk couldn’t help but breath a sigh of relief. They were resolved to tell Chara their feelings now, but the school cafeteria was _not_ the place for it.

“Y-yo, Chara… What’s wrong?” said Emkay, looking far more nervous than Frisk thought he had any reason to be when they were the one with the crush on Chara. “’ _What’s wrong?_ ’” Chara quoted with a calm, level tone that meant someone was going to get a black eye, clearly agitated to a degree that made Emkay shake in his seat. “Allow me to enlighten you, friends. Someone- some… hooligan, had apparently decided that it would be funny to glue my locker shut.”

Frisk and Asriel looked to Chara with surprise on their faces. Nobody messed with Chara at school anymore. Not after what happened to the last kid. The shared look between them communicated clearly their disbelief.

“O-oh, wow. Who would do something like that? Heh… Only someone really dumb… right?” stuttered Emkay. The unsettling grin spread wider over Chara’s face as they stared Emkay down from across the table. “Or someone with a death wish.” added Chara. “A wish I will be happy to grant them, if only I can identify the culprit.”

Emkay gulped nervously.

Frisk suddenly recalled Emkay’s comment from earlier. ‘ _Yo dude, it’s okay. Chara’s gonna be busy for a while._ ’ Oh. _Oh_. Emkay has definitely done something he is going to regret. Frisk slips him a sympathetic glance when Chara isn’t looking, and Asriel tries to distract Chara from their poor friend- he too seems to have caught on. “Do you think it could have been Carl?” he supplies, jumping slightly in his seat as Chara stabbed their plastic fork menacingly into their mashed potatoes. “I would not be surprised.” says Chara with a huff.

“Maybe you should just let this one slide, Chara, if you don’t know who did it…” offers Frisk, trying to spare Emkay the bullet he volunteered to bite for their sake. Chara scoffs and shakes their head. “Oh Frisk, you merciful creature, you. I cannot spare the offender. I have a reputation to maintain. Do you know what would happen if I allowed this slight to go unpunished? Why, soon the whole school would believe it safe to mess with me. Or with you.” Frisk laughed awkwardly as they watched Emkay excuse themselves to the bathroom.

“How, um… nice of you, Chara.” said Frisk. “But you don’t want to get in trouble for getting in another fight, right?” Asriel nodded quickly at Frisk’s waring, too quickly, and his ears flopped about in the air to the side of his head. Despite the tense situation, Frisk couldn’t help but giggle at the sight and after Frisk started Chara couldn’t resist either. “Yeah, you remember what Mom d- wait, what’s so funny?”

By the time Emkay returned from his suspiciously long trip to the bathroom, Chara’s temper had cooled from livid to merely annoyed and Asriel was again trying and failing to hide a flushed face with even more flushed ears. Frisk made sure to give Emkay their dessert.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There it is! My first piece of literature posted to Ao3. Thank you very much for reading it; I hope you enjoyed it. Please let me know about any thoughts you have in the comments below, whether it's constructive criticism, opinions on my presentation of the characters, casual commentary, or whatever else!


	2. Step Two: Confess Your Feelings!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter ended up about 3,000 words longer than I meant for it to be and that's after I decided that some of the stuff that would have been in this chapter would probably be better to put in the next chapter. Whoops! Well, who needs consistency in word count anyway?
> 
> Nonetheless, I'm pleased enough with this chapter to post it. In the end I was really happy with the first chapter, so I hope you find this second chapter to be a good follow up for it. I will mention that this chapter hasn't been properly proof-read yet, so I expect that there are probably a plentiful number of errors that I'll have to fix when I comb over this chapter again sometime in the next couple days. Hopefully I didn't do anything really crazy like forget to remove a duplicate paragraph from the first draft of this chapter! Haha... That'd be embarrassing.
> 
> I'd also like to warn that this chapter reveals me to be almost as bad at naming as Asgore and Asriel are, so prepare yourself for that!

_Step Two: Confess your feelings! So your friends have helped psych you up, they've gotten you some alone time with your crush, and it's time for you to tell them how you really feel. It can be difficult to just say it, so if you're having a hard time, start by telling your crush why you like them. If they've captured your heart, they must be an amazing person- let them know why! Chances are, they don't realize just how important to you they are. Play it cool and take your time but be true to yourself._

* * *

The bell rings, signaling the end of the school day. Human and monster children alike flood into the halls from their classrooms, granted merciful freedom from the daily drudgery of education. Frisk bounded down the halls, leaving Math class with its ugly red-pink stucco walls and questions-that-are-easy-but-showing-your-work-is-hard behind with an eager step. Frisk was as enthusiastic as any child to see the school day done; their fellow students chattered excitedly amongst themselves as their shoes scuffed noisily over the hallway’s floor. Teachers shouted from their classrooms, telling their students to stay safe and have a good day, and closing announcements buzzed from the PA system overhead.

Yet for all the scholastic cacophony around them, Frisk heard none of it- their attention was focused inward, preparing themselves for what was to come next now that school was done. Frisk’s head contained a whirlwind of anxious and excited emotions, the likes of which was unrivaled outside of Sans’ bedroom. Frisk’s heart wouldn’t sit still in their chest but threading itself ever-present through all of Frisk’s thoughts was a sense of determination. Any time doubt crept up on them, Frisk would stamp it down aggressively, terminating the thought before it could take root. Asriel and Emkay had been so supportive of them before that to back out on talking to Chara now would feel like disappointing them but more than that, Frisk would be disappointing themselves.

As if summoned by Frisk’s consideration of them, Asriel and Emkay came up to Frisk while the child was exchanging their math textbook at their locker for the books they’d need to do their homework. Emkay’s younger sister Elmay, in her pink and brown stripes that always reminded Frisk of chocolate-dipped strawberries, trailed shortly behind them while lost in her own world of music. Frisk didn’t get to talk to Elmay much because Emkay’s sibling was a grade down from them, but Frisk knew she liked music because the quiet little monster girl was almost never seen without a pair of headphones on her head and knew she liked Mew Mew Kissy Cutie because of all the cute Cutie stickers she had covered her headphones with.

“Yo, Frisk! Are you ready?”

Frisk considered the question for a moment before turning around as they slung their backpack over their shoulder. It was obvious that Emkay wasn’t asking about whether Frisk was ready to leave. “Yeah, I’m ready.” Frisk gave their friends an appreciative grin that morphed into a full smile when they returned the supportive gesture. “I’m still a little worried they won’t feel the same way,” said Frisk while looking pointedly to Asriel, “but I have to tell them or else I’ll never know, right?”

Asriel scoffs, the taller goatchild stepping forward to pat Frisk on the back- awkward with Frisk’s worn bookbag hanging there but the thought of the encouraging gesture conveyed all the same. “You could spend forever waiting for them to tell you how they feel and they’d never do it. Chara can do anything they put their head to, but gosh, they’re still scared of their own feelings. But Dad says love is like a rose bush, “ _it can grow on its own, but the most beautiful flowers grow from being tended by a careful hand_ ”. Asriel tosses his voice in an attempted imitation of Asgore’s deep bass tone, which ends up sounding nothing like his father at all. Frisk can’t help but scrunch their face up in a gentle laugh at the failure. “That didn’t sound anything like him, Azzy!” Asriel sputters and scrambles to defend his poor performance from Frisk’s accusation, but before he can make the excuse Frisk just _knows_ is coming (“H-he’s bigger! I’m still growing! I’ll sound like him someday!”), Elmay interrupted.

“Emkay,” she started while nudging her brother’s shoulder with her face, “What’re you guys talking about? Don’t leave me out of the conversation.” Emkay looked down at his sister and then back up to Frisk, as if asking permission to tell them, but seemed to think better of it before Frisk could answer. Emkay gives his sister a cheeky grin while staring at her headphones.

“Dude, we’re not leaving you out... You’re just not listening again, yo.” Emkay’s words are half scolding and half teasing, but all affectionate. It was a tone Frisk had never heard him use for anyone but Elmay. As Frisk and Asriel watch Elmay stick her tongue out at Emkay with a flat “bleh”, they both giggle at the exchange between the two reptilian monsters. Asriel shakes his head when Frisk tugs on his sleeve to quietly ask if he and Chara were ever like that when they were younger.

“Sorry Frisk,” said Emkay as his sister went back to listening to her music, “but we gotta go before we miss the bus. I know you can do it though! You got past Undyne and even broke the barrier… so you can do anything, yo!” Frisk’s cheeks flush slightly under the kind words of praise and encouragement, but it’s a please sort of blush rather than the hot embarrassment that had graced Frisk’s face so often earlier in the day.

Asriel smiled to see Emkay’s support for Frisk but nodded as he grasped the straps of his backpack and stepped back to acknowledge the conversation’s closing. “Gosh, I already told you both that they like Frisk back. It should be easy now, right Frisk?” he teased.

The human child rolled their eyes as they waved goodbye to Emkay and Elmay. “See you later! I’ll tell you how it goes, okay Emkay!?” Frisk called, forgetting for a moment that “it” was still a secret and not something to shout about in a crowded hallway. At Asriel’s start, Frisk turned around to walk off after closing their locker and quickly fell in line with their adoptive brother’s stride only to suddenly elbow him affectionately in the side.

“So ‘ _It should be easy now’_ , huh?” commented Frisk with a sly grin, “If you think it’s so easy to tell your crush you like them, when are you going to talk to yours?” Asriel winced at their smug remark and tried to avoid looking at Frisk’s scheming smirk while the pair swam upstream through a river of students headed the opposite way through the halls to reach their buses.

Asriel knew that it wouldn’t work if he just tried to pretend he hadn’t heard Frisk, so after a brief pause he stuttered back at them with the most evasive reply he could conjure on short notice. “I-It’s not the same.” Unfortunately for Asriel, that wasn’t going to work either. Frisk wasn’t going to let Asriel slip away so easily.

“Why not?”

The goat monster groaned in disappointment that Frisk hadn’t just let it go while he shuffled through a thick crowd of children clogging the hallway. He grabbed Frisk’s wrist to make sure the two didn’t end up separated while he begrudgingly answered. “Gosh, I already told you they like you Frisk, so it should be easy for you. But I don’t know if my crush likes me back.” Asriel didn’t have to look behind him to know Frisk was making a disbelieving face.

“Uh, Asriel? You’re sweet and polite and your fur is soft and you’re a prince. They’d have to be crazy to turn you down.” said Frisk, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. The two managed to work their way slowly through the crowd and Frisk stepped up to walk at Asriel’s side again once they didn’t need the larger child to help push open a path through the mass of students. “Who are they, anyway?” asked Frisk off-handedly, trying to make the question sound as casual as possible to mask their curiosity.

“I’m not going to tell you who he is, Frisk.” Asriel replied, with all the sternness a young tween goat whose voice still hadn’t dropped could muster. He didn’t expect Frisk to smile so brightly at being shut down, but the other child seemed strangely pacified with the answer.

“Ah-ha, so it’s another boy!” said Frisk in a conspiratorial whisper laced with cheer, “You said ‘he’ this time!” Asriel groaned as he slapped his face at the sudden realization of what he had let slip. The doors that led out to the teachers’ parking lot were just ahead, and Asriel hoped dearly that once they met up with Chara and Toriel at the Goatmobile Frisk would drop the subject. Until then, the boss monster was resigned to his grim conversational fate. “But seriously,” started Frisk again, “you’re _literally_ Prince Charming. You could ask anybody at school out and they’d say yes.” Frisk considered briefly that they had used the word “literally” wrong again, but fortunately Chara wasn’t around to correct them this time.

“That’s the problem, Frisk!” said the exasperated goat child as he opened the door out to the parking lot. Walking outside felt like stepping into a wall of hot air, and for a moment Asriel considered ducking back inside the air-conditioned school. “I don’t want him to date me just because he feels like can’t say no! What if I ask him out and he only says yes because I’m royalty?”

“Then Chara will probably break his nose.” offered Frisk, a finger brought up to their chin as they contemplated the thought.

“Exactly!” exclaimed Asriel without missing a beat, as if he had previously considered this exact scenario in his head. “And I don’t want Chara to break his nose!”

The pair had walked far enough along now that Chara must have been able to hear them from the family’s beat-up van, because they shouted back cheerfully, “Whose nose will I be breaking, brother dearest?” through the open window. Frisk and Asriel were still too far to understand Toriel’s quieter admonishment, but the two children shouted back, “Nobody’s!” with a mutual certainty that Toriel was telling Chara approximately the same thing.

And that was the end of that conversation; Frisk wasn’t foolhardy enough to press Asriel about his secret crush when their secret crush sat right behind them in the van.

“Children, have you all remembered your homework? There is nothing you’ve forgotten in your lockers?” said Toriel while waiting for the three kids to put their seatbelt on. Chara caught Toriel’s eyes in the van’s mirror, holding a staring contest that only lasted a few seconds before Chara broke gaze with a sigh and begrudgingly pulled their seatbelt on. “Mother, your driving skills are superb,” they complained over Asriel and Frisk’s affirmations that nothing had been forgotten. “A seatbelt is both unnecessary and a cruel implement of torture.”

“You flatter me, my child.” said Toriel fondly and with a soft but stern smile that reminded Chara for the fifth time this week that seatbelts were non-negotiable when Toriel was in the vehicle. “I will employ every bit of those superb skills to deliver us all home as swiftly as is safely possible for your sake.” Chara hated the way seatbelts pulled against them and held them back and sometimes got stuck and locked you back completely, but Toriel had proven before that they would wait Chara out if the latter refused to put their seatbelt… Even if that meant everyone had to sit in the hot parking lot for twenty minutes after the last bus had left.

Frisk didn’t much like seatbelts either and couldn’t help but smile apologetically for Chara from the front passenger seat, even if Chara couldn’t see it. In fact, it was probably all the better that Chara couldn’t see it, or else they would just get pouty. As cute as Chara could be when pouting, Frisk didn’t want to confess to Chara when the latter was already embarrassed for receiving Frisk’s pity. Instead, as Toriel turned the radio on and the musical train wreck that was “Time to Tell You How I Feel” filled the air, Frisk focused on belting out the lyrics with all the unironic passion and volume they could muster.

* * *

Car doors opened and closed as the Dreemurr family stepped out of the Goatmobile. The children scampered across the yard to the wide porch, the bikes leaned against the wood porch rails ignored and the hanging loveseat left to sway alone in the midsummer breeze. It was not a day for playing or lounging in the sun, and eager as Frisk and Chara were to get inside Asriel promptly flopped onto his stomach beneath the living room’s fan after he turned it on, not even taking the time to remove his backpack. Frisk and Chara followed shortly after him once they took their shoes off and discarded their bookbags, and the three children simply laid on the floor in a circle while basking in the glory that was air-conditioned housing.

“Chara, when you told me about the surface you never said the Sun was so hot.” said Asriel in a miserable voice muffled by a face-full of carpeting. “It never occurred to me that I would need to tell someone the Sun was hot, Azzy.” came the reply, unapologetically.

The sound of the front door opening didn’t prompt a reaction from the children, but when Toriel leaned over the kids and laughed softly, Chara and Asriel groaned at the interruption to the airflow. “Look at you silly children,” teased Toriel affectionately, “So hot that the first thing you do is throw yourselves beneath the fan. Go on up to your room and change out of your school clothes into something cooler and then sit under the fan. I will go get some cold drinks, and when you come back we can talk about how school went before you start on your homework.”

Frisk rolled their head over to watch Chara blink and sit up, as if they were dumbfounded that they had followed Asriel’s example in the first place. “Right. Of course.” said Chara, who picked themselves up from the floor a moment later and extended a hand down to Frisk for the dark-skinned child to take. Frisk didn’t hesitate. Toriel gave her children a wiry smile before padding off quietly towards the kitchen. “Azzy, are you coming?” asked Chara, who stood over Asriel with a hand for him after they helped Frisk up. Asriel rolled over to his side and gave Chara the most deadpan stare he had in his expressive arsenal (greatly diminished from his days as a flower).

“No Chara, I’m staying here where it’s cool.” Said the goat child, who barely managed the effort necessary to pull his arms free of his backpack before he flopped back over onto his stomach just to emphasize the point. Asriel was going nowhere until he was ready. Chara raised an eyebrow at the childish display but shrugged their shoulders before they turned to the staircase. “Suit yourself, Azzy. Come on, Frisk.”

Frisk followed Chara up the stairs, hand grasped tighter around the lacquered wood rail than it needed to be. It was time to put their money where their mouth was, and with that realization came the unwelcome return of the butterflies to their stomach. Frisk glanced down to Asriel below, who had rolled back over onto his side. He stared passively back at Frisk, but the thumbs up he lazily shot them told Frisk that he believed they could do it. That thought alone helped Frisk take the next step up the staircase.

“Frisk? Are you coming?” Chara’s voice snapped Frisk out of their thoughts, and the younger child looked up again to see Chara waiting for them at the top of the stairs. Had Chara seen that moment shared between Frisk and Asriel? Frisk chanced a sideways glance down to Asriel again, only to spy the monster prince laid out limp on the floor again as if he had never been watching the other two children.

“Yeah, I’m coming. Sorry, Chara.”

The short walk down the hall to the bedroom felt like it lasted much longer than it really did, but still not long enough for the suddenly fidgety Frisk to calm their nerves entirely. Why were they suddenly nervous again _now_ when they had felt so inspired not even an hour ago? Frisk watched from the doorway as Chara went to the dresser and opened their drawer to pull out something more appropriate to the weather, studying the back of their crush’s head as if they would find the answer in those short auburn locks. Frisk sighed after a moment before they moved to sit on the one bed of the room’s three that had their name engraved at the headboard. As Frisk played with their hands, they considered that they already knew the reason why they were hesitating now. They still feared the chance of rejection, even after everything Asriel and Emkay had said to support Frisk. Even after the email (which really wasn’t much help, but at least it got them talking to their friends).

Fear wasn’t something new to Frisk- not even fear of rejection. They’d dealt with all kinds of fear before when they had to transverse the Underground with monsters on the hunt for their soul, so why was this different? What made it so easy to push through with things then that they didn’t have now? As Frisk looked back up at Chara, they realized the answer quite suddenly.

Frisk cleared their throat loudly before calling out. “Chara?” they said, waiting long enough to let Chara know Frisk wanted them to meet their gaze before the conversation continued. Chara looked surprised and confused when they saw Frisk sitting awkwardly on their bed like that, hands held together neatly in their lap and legs noticeably still instead of kicking gently back and forth over the side of the bed, Frisk’s posture tight like maybe if they scrunched up enough they could disappear. Frisk didn’t deny to themselves they were afraid anymore, but now they understood what to do with their fear.

“Frisk, are you alright?” said Chara in a tender tone that made Frisk shiver. They’d used that tone so often to comfort them whenever the fighting and the _deaths_ became too much to bear. “Did someone hurt you at school?” When Frisk shook their head wordlessly, Chara moved to step closer but Frisk raised a hand to stop them.

“No, please don’t, Chara. There’s something I want to-“ Frisk paused, before correcting themselves- “I need to talk to you about. Will you listen?” Chara stood tensely, a shirt from the drawer laying forgotten on the floor behind them, but followed the direction of Frisk’s squinty gaze to Chara’s own bed. The message was received, and Chara nodded as they went to sit on their own bed across the room from Frisk. “So, Frisk. What is it you need to tell me?” said Chara patiently.

“Do you remember the first time I died?” said Frisk, words mirroring Chara’s calm now that Frisk understood what they were saying, what they needed to say. Chara holds back from scoffing at the odd question, “Of course I do, Frisk. It was in the forest outside Snowdin. You were already weak from fights before and you were dodging poorly because of the cold. Snowdr-“ Chara stopped there, when they realized Frisk was wincing at their detailed recollection of the event.

“But do you remember what happened after I died?” asked Frisk as they fidgeted with their fingers in their lap. Chara paused, putting an arm out on their bed to lean back on while rubbing their chin thoughtfully with the other hand. It wasn’t as clear in Chara’s memory as the events immediately preceding Frisk’s death, but they remembered all the same. “You hid next to a tree and cried while asking me if that really happened. I told you it did and then let you cry for a few minutes before telling you that if you kept crying your eyes would freeze shut. You looked ridiculous, but that was when I saw your eyes for the first time, wasn’t it?”

Frisk nodded and smiled fondly at the memory as they supplied the rest. “I really believed you. So even though I was still crying, I opened my eyes as wide as I could. You were staring at me and when I asked why you just started making funny faces at me. We argued after that but I was laughing and so were you and I wasn’t crying anymore, Chara.” Chara nodded too, even though they were unsure where Frisk was headed with this.

“I can’t believe you let me cry that long, though.” added Frisk under their breath. “You had just died.” retorted Chara with a shrug, but Frisk didn’t seem satisfied with that. “You wouldn’t have let Asriel cry that long.” Chara sat upright again, looking away from Frisk bashfully. “Well… You were just a little kid back then. It’s okay for little kids to cry.”

“I’m glad you let me cry, though. And after that,” continued Frisk “You let me hold your hand while we walked through Snowdin Forest even though you were a ghost and couldn’t really let me hold your hand and you hated letting me do it anyway, but I said it would make me feel safe.”

Chara frowned, not out of irritation or anger but out of confusion, which was a very Chara thing to do. “Why are you asking me about this, Frisk?” they asked, and the words came clearly even if slowly, even if uncertain. Chara was still speaking in that soft voice that Frisk knew they only used with them and Asriel. Knowing that made Frisk feel special. It had that same melodious lilt that Chara’s voice always had, but without the sharp edge that their words normally carried. If that voice was like a knife singing through the air mid-swing, this voice was like a lullaby sung in your ear for you alone.

“What about when we had to run from Undyne in Waterfall?” asked Frisk, ignoring Chara’s question. They spoke with clarity now, the butterflies gone now. “I had to dodge a lot of spears and it hurt when I messed up, and I had to crawl through the grass ‘cause I didn’t know when Undyne might be watching me.”

Chara didn’t like their question being ignored, but they could tell this was clearly important to Frisk so they crossed their arms and went with it. “Right. Except I was telling you which way to dodge to let you focus on running, so it was really my fault when you got hit, and when you didn’t want to crawl through the grass because you were scared of Undyne I would look around for you to make sure she wasn’t there.”

Frisk smiled back at Chara with a sudden warmth that made the other child’s eyes widen. “But you never yelled at me and told me I didn’t listen right, you just told me what to do next and apologized once we lost her.” Frisk wasn’t sitting all scrunched up anymore, Chara noticed, and eyed the other child appraisingly to try and figure out why Frisk seemed more relaxed now that they were talking about their near-death and actual-death experiences… And why Frisk had seemed so worried in the first place. “And you never told me I was being a scaredy-cat for wanting you to look for Undyne, even after we had to LOAD and do it over… Even when we both knew where Undyne was waiting for us.”

“Frisk, what point are you trying to make? I don’t see where you’re going with all this.” asked Chara, who spoke carefully to keep any annoyance from entering their voice. But again, Frisk ignored their question and moved on, to Chara’s frustration.

“What about the lab in Alphys’ basement, Chara? You remember that place too, right?”

That question made Chara pause. They remembered, of course. But they didn’t like remembering it. Even after learning what the amalgamates were, the place was still dark and creepy and full of bad-good memories on VHS. But those same bad-good memories helped them tell Frisk what they hadn’t been able to tell them before, and the two had become even closer for it. “I remember the videos, if that’s what you mean.” said Chara cautiously, avoiding eye contacting with their friend. Frisk couldn’t help but think Chara looked like they were the one trying to bare their heart all of a sudden and laughed in spite of themselves. Chara was quick to snap their attention back to Frisk with a glare that melted away once they realized Frisk wasn’t really laughing at them.

“No, the videos aren’t what I mean. I remember how scared we both were of the weird monsters done there. We thought they were ghosts. We thought they could hurt you, because, you remember, there was that bullet that we thought hit you...” The phantom echo of sensation Chara received from Frisk back then had fooled them both; Frisk had been hit by a bullet neither of them saw at the same time a bullet they had both been watching streaked through Chara’s ghostly form. The shared shock of pain from the hit was like any other, but the pair had concluded with alarm that it was Frisk feeling Chara’s pain at the time instead of the other way around like usual.

Chara seemed to shift with embarrassment as Frisk explained what they meant. Chara had actually forgotten that part, the memory swept away to make room for much more emotional ones. “Yes, that’s right.” Chara supplied shortly, remembering how they had panicked after that convinced they were “bleeding” ectoplasm over the floor (which turned out to be slime from the amalgamates) and then that made Frisk panic and then they were both panicking and it was embarrassing and if Frisk said Chara was crying back then Frisk was wrong because that was just dust in Chara’s eyes. Ghost dust, because Chara was the one who had been a ghost and they would know whether ghost dust was real or not. “I still don’t underst-“

“And even though you thought the almalma… amagla… the weird monsters could hurt you, you still helped me when they attacked!” shouted Frisk, interrupting Chara with a sudden excitement that made them hope Frisk might finally be getting to their point. “Even though you could have ghosted into the floor to hide, you didn’t. You helped me when we thought you were danger too Chara! And-”

Finally, Chara’s patience had reached its breaking point and they repaid the earlier interruption. “Frisk! We did a lot of stuff in the Underground! Get to your point!” asked Chara as they dramatically stood up with a scowl that made Frisk giggle again because they saw it immediately fall off Chara’s face when the first fallen human suddenly felt guilty for having shouted at Frisk.

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry for taking so long, Chara,” started Frisk, still smiling as they stood up too. Talking like this with Chara, laughing and watching Chara’s face shift expressively from one look to the next as the two shared memories, Frisk suddenly wondered why they were ever nervous about talking to Chara because there was no one they could ever talk to as easily as Chara. “So my point is… You really helped me a lot in the Underground.”

Chara stared back at Frisk with a dumbfounded look on their face, thinking for a moment that that was it, that was all Frisk was trying to tell them. But Frisk didn’t leave it at that. “You comforted me when I was sad or scared, and you helped me even when I was just being silly because it would make me feel better. You never yelled at me for messing up.” said Frisk, moving their mouth with their heart instead of their brain because it was so much easier to just let their feelings talk when they were alone with Chara. “And you never abandoned me either, you didn’t leave me even when you thought you were in danger because you knew I was just a weak little kid and I’d be doomed without someone as awesome as you helping me.”

Chara flushed at the praise and tucked a hand behind their head as they suddenly found something very interesting about their feet to stare at. Even now, years after being reunited with their family, their real family that cared for them, Chara was unable to take such earnest thankfulness from someone without doubting it. Their eyes darted up to watch as Frisk walked across the room, past Asriel’s bed, to stop in front of them. “And basically Chara, you’re an amazing person that I’m really happy to have met because no one else ever cared about me like you did.” Frisk stood there in front of Chara with their hands clasped behind their back, giving Chara a smile so genuine that even Chara couldn’t doubt it.

“Like I still do.” Chara supplied softly, head still cast downward but a nervous smile on their face too.

Frisk felt their heart flutter in their chest again, and they realized they couldn’t stop smiling. Was that…? Did Chara mean what Frisk thought they did? They could feel their face heating up again. “Chara… I like you a lot.”

“I know you do, Frisk. I know I don’t say it often, but I-“

“But I mean I _like_ you a lot. I like-like you, Chara. A lot.” Frisk’s face was on fire again, but this time there was no shame or nervousness or worry. Only love, which had pushed all those other thoughts and emotions out of Frisk’s head.

And they all came rushing back in as Chara sputtered with surprise at the confession. “W-wait, Frisk! Fuck! Do you mean you…?” Frisk could feel their heart breaking as soon as they saw Chara recoil away from them and that heartbreak was written all over their face for Chara to read. It answered Chara’s question, which was good because Frisk’s voice certainly wasn’t going to.

Oh god. That’s not what Chara meant when they said they still cared. Frisk cursed themselves for reading too much into it. Was this a mistake? It had to be a mistake, if this is how Chara was reacting now. Frisk recoiled too, and their legs felt weak enough for them to suddenly fall back onto Asriel’s bed. “Chara, I…” Frisk thought about trying to take it all back. In a moment of panic they could see all the worst outcomes of this situation stretching out ahead of them. Chara looked ready to run- would they tell Toriel? Would they stop talking to Frisk? Could Frisk even still talk to them?

But that moment of panic ended and even though the dread was still settling like a lead weight in Frisk’s stomach they knew just as surely as when they left the Ruins so long ago that they had passed a point of no return. “I can’t lie to you Chara. I- It’s really how I feel. I love you, more than the way I love Azzy or Mom.” Frisk couldn’t look up at Chara now, they were shrinking in on themselves because they had just ruined everything and they were pretty sure they just heard their voice crack up and that meant they were crying now too. The feeling of wetness on their burning cheeks a moment later confirmed it.

But none of the things Frisk expected to happen happened. They didn’t hear Chara’s footsteps sprinting out of the bedroom. Chara didn’t push them and call them weird. They didn’t even hear Chara laugh and say it was okay because they were just surprised and they really did feel the same way, even though Frisk didn’t really expect that one but they hoped, they hoped so badly to hear Chara laugh or at least say something.

It took several seconds for anything to happen, but Frisk couldn’t tell how long it was. They had pulled themselves up into a little ball on Asriel’s bed, resting their forehead on their knees as they sniffled softly. Frisk was just crying, not sobbing, so they could hear the confused sigh Chara made before they felt Chara’s hands softly wrap around their wrists. Chara peeled the tiny Frisk-ball open when Frisk didn’t jerk away or resist.

“Come on Frisk, look up at me. Please?” said Chara softly as they brushed a hand over Frisk’s chestnut hair. Frisk felt too weak to do anything but listen, and when they looked up Chara had a look on their face that Frisk thought was somewhere between kind and somber. Bittersweet?

“You haven’t said you don’t like me the same way yet.” stated Frisk, tugging one of their hands free to wipe tears away with their wrist. “Don’t keep me waiting Chara. It’s unbearable.” The comment made Chara sigh again, but they had collected their thoughts and recovered from their earlier surprises. They were ready to talk again now. Letting go of Frisk’s other arm, Chara stepped back to sit on their own bed across from Frisk. “I’m sorry Frisk. You’re right, that’s cruel of me.” Frisk winced. Did they have to use that soft voice now? This would hurt less if they didn’t say it in a way that reminded Frisk of every other time Chara had ever comforted them. “But… I’m going to have to keep being cruel because I’m not sure what to tell you yet.”

Frisk looked at them with confusion, and with Chara wearing a smile like a mask to cover their own confused feelings, the two children seemed reversed in position compared to where they both stood at the moment Frisk confessed. Then Frisk remembered what Asriel had said before, how he’d predicted exactly this.

The thought gave Frisk hope and they smiled in spite of themselves, because if Asriel was right about this then he could still be right about how Chara would feel in the end. “W-what? That is cruel, Chara. But… You wouldn’t be the tough kid if you couldn’t be mean, r-right?” Frisk couldn’t muster up a laugh at their own joke, but Chara seemed to think it was worth a small chuckle.

“I could never be so cruel to you Frisk, even if I had to beat up three kids at school to keep people from thinking I’ve gone soft.” They pause, before adding to their words. “Except right now, I suppose, because I need to think on this. I…” Finding that the rest of the words frustratingly refuse to come and feeling completely out of their element, Chara struggles to keep their own emotions in check. Sure, they already knew Frisk loved them (even if they thought they’d never understand why, except now after this conversation they understand a little better) but they hadn’t thought it was any different from the way Asriel or Toriel or Asgore somehow loved them.

Chara needed time to process, because right now their own heart was beating fast from the mix of emotions their brain was sending it. To be loved like _that_ was a new experience for Chara; some days they were _still_ trying to wrap their head around being loved like family as if it were too good to be true and that was something they’d had years to get use to. Chara wasn’t even sure they’d know what it would feel like for them to feel the same way for Frisk.

Fortunately for Chara, Frisk understood. They gingerly let their feet down to the floor and stood up. Chara watched Frisk carefully as they rubbed the last tears from their eyes and tried to force a smile so Chara wouldn’t feel bad. It only made Chara feel worse, because they’d just broken Frisk’s heart and here this kid was still trying to smile and make them feel better. If anyone else had done this to Frisk, Chara would have broken their nose, but Chara was pretty sure beating themselves up literally would just make the situation worse in every way. Now, beating themselves up figuratively…? Chara was an old expert at that.

“It’s okay Chara. I… That’s not what I wanted to hear but I know you must have a lot to think about now. I’m going to leave now, okay?” said Frisk slowly, though they clarified themselves in a hurry at the look of concern on Chara’s face. “I just mean I’m going to go see Emkay! I’ll come back later today… I promise.” Frisk’s voice was quiet as they supplied the last two words, but Chara didn’t miss them. “But you have to promise you’ll have an answer when I come back, okay? My precious maiden’s heart can only take so much waiting.”

This time, Frisk was the only one who seemed to find their joke funny.

Frisk’s precious maiden’s heart couldn’t stand this situation any longer either, so Frisk darted for the door. They heard Chara swear and call after them, but they didn’t stop. They ran down the hall and they ran down the stairs and they would have ran out the front door except Asriel was standing defiantly at the bottom of the stairs to block Toriel. “My child! Frisk, what is the matter? What is going on up there and why does Asriel refuse to let me pass?”

Frisk wasn’t sure what they could tell Toriel about what just happened, but they needed to leave now because the sooner they got to Emkay’s house the sooner they could tell Emkay about what just happened. “Um. I…” Asriel looked over his shoulder to Frisk and tried to smile for them while Frisk stumbled over their words again. “Golly Frisk,” started Asriel, “It looks like that went about as well as I expected.”

Oh, right. Frisk had been crying. Their face must still be red from it. Toriel certainly wasn’t going to let Frisk talk their way out of this without telling her what happened if she knew it had made Frisk cry, so they stopped bothering with trying to talk and did the only sensible thing.

Quick as lightning and with athletics trained by countless laps through the Underground, Frisk was up and over the staircase’s banister. Before Toriel could react, Frisk had already zipped past her and out the front door, not even bothering to grab their shoes. “I’m going to see Emkay! I’ll be back before bedtime! I promise!” shouted Frisk, in hopes that the assurances would placate Toriel. They didn’t, but before Toriel could give chase Asriel called out to her.

“Mom, I can’t tell you what’s happening right now but I promise it’s really important that you let Frisk and Chara work it out themselves!” The goat child spoke with conviction, but that alone wasn’t going to be enough to sooth the increasingly worried mother and Asriel could see it. “Please, Mom. I wouldn’t have kept you down here if I didn’t know this was something you can’t help them with yet… You have to understand.” Toriel still looked like she was about to go sprinting out the door after Frisk’s receding silhouette, and with her comparatively massive stride Toriel would catch up easily. “Mom! You know I wouldn’t lie about something like this. Frisk is going to be okay if you let them work this out on their own!” The elder monster was still tense, but sighed as they decided to give Asriel- and Frisk and Chara- a chance.

“You can all expect one heck of a grounding if there doesn’t turn out to be a very good reason for this, mister.” says Toriel to Asriel with a warning tone, before she cups her paws around her mouth to shout at Frisk. “Please come back for your shoes, my child! And your water! It’s still cold!”

* * *

The door to the upstairs bedroom wasn’t closed, and as Asriel stepped into the room he let the door click behind him just loud enough to make sure Chara would know he was coming. Chara didn’t look away from the patch of ceiling their eyes were glued to, but they greeted him all the same. “Hey, Azzy.” Chara couldn’t front the energy to give them a less half-assed greeting than that while they laid on top of the covers of their bed, arms folded behind their head in a recline Asriel might have called relaxed if he didn’t know better.

“Howdy, Chara.”

Asriel walked to his own bed in the middle on climbed up, laying down in a mirror of Chara’s posture and waiting for Chara to speak first.

It took a couple minutes, but Asriel’s patience was rewarded. “Where is Frisk now? I heard the shouting.” Asriel chuckled to hear Chara lead off with that question- they of all people should know Frisk can take care of themselves.

“They’re downstairs in the kitchen. Mom got them to come back for their shoes and drink so they don’t hurt themselves running to Emkay’s house.” Asriel turned his head over the pillow to look over to Chara. Still staring at the ceiling. “So I kno-“ began Asriel, only to be rudely cut off.

“Is this a joke?”

Asriel didn’t expect that question from Chara either, and with a surprised startle he sits up in bed. “What? No! Of course not! Why do you think Frisk would ever joke about something like that?” he says quickly, only for Chara to counter just as swiftly. “I saw that thumbs up you gave Frisk.” said Chara, finally breaking their staring contest with the ceiling to glance at Asriel from the corner of they eye. “You can’t pretend you didn’t know what they were about to tell me. Did you put them up to it? Is this a prank to get back at me for the New Year’s Eve party?”

Asriel almost looked hurt at the accusation, but Chara knew Asriel well enough now to tell the difference between when Asriel was offended and when he was pretending to be offended (even if he got a lot better at it after being Flowey for so long). “Gosh Chara, do you really think I’d do that?” When Chara didn’t answer, Asriel kept going. “Frisk was telling me about it at lunch today. Emkay too. We convinced them that they should tell you how they feel. _I_ told them you’d feel the same way.” Chara had gone back to staring at the ceiling, so they didn’t see the self-assured grin Asriel couldn’t keep off his face. Frisk was behaving exactly like he expected, and so was Chara.

But didn’t really think Asriel would set them up like that, and even if he did Chara knew Frisk wouldn’t have gone along with a prank like that. That dork was too genuine with their feelings to lie like that to Chara’s face. So Chara sighed again, back to square one now that they’d ruled out trickery. Chara caught Asriel’s grin when they suddenly sat up and looked at him too, and their eyes narrowed. “What are you smiling about, Azzy?”

Caught red-handed, Asriel shook his head with alarm. “Nothing!” Chara’s glare remained fixed on them as Asriel did his best not to squirm under their sibling and best friend’s gaze. Just as he started to think he might have to come clean, Chara stood up with a huff and walked to the nightstand next to Frisk’s bed. On that small little table sat a small photograph in a plain wooden frame. Chara picked it up to look at the picture of Frisk smiling happily, surrounded by all their friends and family from the Underground. They had the original taken right after they freed the monsters, but once Chara and Asriel had been restored to life too Frisk had insisted that everyone get together to take a new photo with the other two children in the frame.

“What should I do then, Azzy?” Chara heard their brother get up from his bed and felt his paw rest on their shoulder, but their red eyes stayed locked on Frisk’s face in the photo. “Well golly, Chara, I think you have to tell them how you feel.” Chara shook their head at the useless answer.

“That much is obvious but figuring out how I feel is the hard part.”

Asriel made a thoughtful noise as he considered Chara’s answer. That too was obvious. “Well, you don’t dislike Frisk.” he said, stating it as a matter of fact rather than asking. “But you don’t know you like them. Do you think you might like them?”

Chara shrugged Asriel’s paw off their shoulder and set the photograph back in its place before turning to sit on Frisk’s bed where they could face Asriel. “I don’t know. How am I supposed to know if I just like them like normal or if I like them like… that?” Chara waved a hand about the air in a gesture that completely failed to communicate what they meant, but fortunately Asriel didn’t need the help.

“You could start by giving them a chance.”

The look of incredulousness Chara gave Asriel was almost enough to make Asriel think he’d accidentally said something he didn’t mean. But the monster went over the words in his head again just to make sure before repeating them. “I mean it. Give them a chance. If you don’t know how you feel about Frisk, do you really think sitting in our room staring at the ceiling is going to help you figure out?”

“I had been sincerely hoping it would, yes.” Asriel scoffs at Chara’s response, shaking his head before stepping towards the door. “Asriel. What would I do if I took Frisk on a date and then had to tell them afterward that it was a mistake? It would crush their heart ten times over what I just did a few minutes ago.”

That gave Asriel pause, and he had to consider his answer carefully. He was pretty positive Chara would be happy with Frisk. But pretty positive wasn’t one hundred percent, and he didn’t want to try to imagine how Frisk would feel in the situation Chara foretold of. “Chara, if you really have to think on it,” he said slowly, “then try to think about what it’d be like to take Frisk on that date. Think really, really hard about what you’d do and what they’d do and how you’d feel about it.” Asriel hardly a love guru, but it was the best advice his little monster heart could come up with and he had to hope that it was decent advice.

As the door closed softly behind Asriel, Chara lightly thumbed the heart-shaped locket around their neck as they considered what they really hoped was good advice too. Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, Asriel pulled his ears around to hide his face. ‘ _Gosh,_ ’ he thought to himself, ‘ _Was this a bad idea?_ ’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we go, chapter number two down! Again, I'd like to thank you for reading my story and ask that if you have anything to say about it- anything at all!- for you to please leave a comment behind. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, but if not I encourage you to tell me why. And if you did enjoy it... Well, my goal is to have the next one up a week from now, so hopefully you won't be waiting long for another!


	3. Step Three: Ask Them Out!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was a little difficult to get this chapter out, but in the end I feel particularly pleased with it. I didn't even have time to get around to cleaning up the previous chapter like I had intended to do before putting this chapter up, but now that I've finished this chapter I'm happy enough to just upload it and then procrastinate on that task because of the late hour on a worknight and a splitting headache.

_Step Three: Ask them out! Does your crush feel the same way? Whether your heart-felt confession had them swooning on the spot or they needed time to sort their own feelings out, once they're ready you can ask them if they would like to go on a date with you. Be sure to have a good place in mind for your date! Remember that your friends can help you, they might know the perfect place for you to take your crush. Don't be afraid of rejection- they'll never go out with you if you don't ask, so be determined and ask!_

* * *

Chara’s chest rose and fell as they took in a deep breath. Laid out on their bed again with arms behind their head, Chara stared at the closed door opposite their end of the room like they anticipated it opening at any moment. They had already lost track of how long they had been lazing on their bed in thought, even though it had hardly been ten minutes yet since their talk with Asriel. Their eyes were firmly fixed on the doorknob, trying to be ready for the moment someone, anyone- Frisk, Asriel, Toriel, anyone- would turn that knob and come unbidden into the room to interrupt their musing. In spite of that, Chara knew it wasn't watchful vigilance that could ready them for such a confrontation, but pretending it did helped them focus their thoughts.

The first fallen child had never been good at this sort of thing, and that much they knew. Immaterial feelings and memories you could see but not hear or touch… They couldn’t _do_ anything with such thoughts except experience them as they come. It wasn’t possible to hold one in their hands and turn it this way or that to see what makes it up or how its pieces came together. Emotions weren’t like puzzles, which were fun and always had exactly one solution, a single answer that was obviously correct and any number of other answers that were not. No, feelings were much more complicated than any puzzle could ever be, Chara thought, because you could think about your feelings for hours and never know if the conclusion you’d arrived at was the right one. Chara liked puzzles. Chara didn’t like feelings.

Normally Chara would just take their feelings and shove them into the back corner of their mind. They would wear a smile no matter how they felt and tell people they were fine, and then they didn’t have to talk to people about how they felt because _they were fine_. But sometimes, Chara couldn’t do that. Sometimes one of those rare, precious people who really, genuinely cared about them needed to be let into that maze-like swamp that was Chara’s feelings and memories, and to those people- _those people only_ , Chara owed the truth when it was needed because their unconditional love had to be repaid in whatever way Chara could. This was one of those times.

Unconditional love…? That was difficult for Chara to deal with in its own right, too. There had always been that voice in their head, the bleak gardener of their swamp, who would tell them that no love was unconditional… that love couldn’t mean anything if it was unconditional. Even now, Chara still rationalized love as something that had to be earned and repaid. Love and happiness and all those other good feelings had to be accounted for and measured like money in a ledger, costs weighed against profits to determine debts and obligations for Chara to reimburse.

Yes, Chara definitely did not like feelings.

But _this was one of those times_ , and the ledger said Frisk deserved an honest answer about Chara’s feelings.

Chara scowled softly as they wished again that it were just so simple as merely telling Frisk how they felt. Frisk deserved better than to be kept waiting for an answer that might not even be the one they wanted to hear.

Did they love Frisk? Well, yes, of course, Chara considered, rolling their eyes as their own wording. But did they love Frisk like _that_? It was a much harder question. Asriel had said they should think about what it would be like to date Frisk. If only it were so easy! Chara could hardly imagine what it would be like to date anybody- romance had never seemed like something that would fit in Chara’s life, although Chara would have said it was themselves who would never fit into someone else’s romantic life.

But Asriel’s advice made sense to Chara, so they tried to imagine it anyway.

The child’s eyes slid off the door to look at the Mew Mew Kissy Cutie poster (a gift from the ex-royal scientist who had been ever so excited to learn Chara watched the anime too) hung on the wall over their bed as they tried to imagine, not for the first time today, what it would be like to kiss someone. To kiss Frisk. But Chara was certain that, unfortunately, even all of Kissy Cutie’s kissing antics couldn’t give them any real insight into what it would be like. No, real life wasn’t like anime, no matter what Frisk had told Undyne- they scoffed at the mental image of Frisk standing with them in front of a background of blooming roses and soft lense flare effects, but then swallowed thickly as the thought progressed to both of them leaning in, and…

Chara’s rosy cheeks turned redder still as they closed their eyes and shook the fantasy from their head, laughing at themselves for getting flustered. But all the same, Chara’s fingers brushed softly on their lips as they looked up to the ceiling. Chara didn’t know what it would feel like to kiss someone on the lips, but knowing how physically affectionate Frisk liked to be, they would surely find out quickly and often if they started dating their partner from the Underground. The thought made something stir in their chest, but Chara couldn’t tell if it was curiosity, desire, or distaste. Even minor physical contact wasn’t easy for Chara some days, let alone anything as intimate as that.

On the other hand, Frisk was usually an exception. Guilty as they felt whenever they turned down a request for a hug from Asriel because it was a bad day for touching but knew it wasn’t quite a bad enough day that they would have turned down Frisk if they had been the one to ask, that’s just the way it was. Chara had been connected to Frisk’s body for what must have been weeks of time from their shared perspective of the LOADs, sharing tactile sensations and more. It was far more intimate than a hug could ever be and as unpleasant as it was at first the situation had trained Chara’s mind to be more tolerant of Frisk’s touch. Chara was certain Asriel and Frisk understood this too, because Frisk was considerate enough to not flaunt their special touching privileges in front of Asriel.

Maybe something simpler, then. Chara closed their eyes and imagined themselves holding hands with Frisk. Holding hands was easier to imagine because Chara could manage that kind of contact on most days now. Where were they holding hands at? If it was suppose to be a date, it would have to be somewhere romantic. Or at least… some place important. Some place private. Some place special, preferably to both of them.

There was only one place Chara could think of that would tick all those boxes. That personal place of theirs that had been theirs and theirs alone for so long… Yes, it was clear in Chara’s mind that _that place_ was the only place appropriate for a first date with Frisk.

If anyone had been around to ask, Chara would have swiftly blamed their ruddy blush as they imagined taking Frisk out for a romantic date on the heat, even though as they laid out on their bed the air conditioning was running full blast.

* * *

“… so after that, I went back home to get my shoes. Mom got me some water and asked me if I was really sure I couldn’t tell her what was wrong and said she’ll always listen without judging, no matter what. And I almost told her then, because she really did look worried. But I couldn’t tell her because even though I knew she wouldn’t be angry, if I did tell her then she’d probably go and talk to Chara about it and I know Chara wants to think about this on their own.” said Frisk, knees pulled up against their chest as they leaned against the foot of the couch in Emkay and Elmay’s living room. It was weirdly textured and uncomfortably lumpy and an ugly shade of green that nobody seemed to like. Of the kids that Frisk knew had visited Emkay’s house, it was universally agreed that their living room couch sucked even though the rest of the living room was nice. All three children had opted to sit on the softly carpeted floor instead.

Emkay smiled weakly for Frisk from his spot next to the human, leaning around in front of them to make sure they saw it. “That sucks dude, but… I’m sure it’s gonna work out. You remember what Asriel said at lunch, right?” Frisk nodded at their friend’s question. Asriel’s faith that Chara liked Frisk back was the singular hope they had left to cling to at the moment. They had spent most of the sprint to Emkay’s house consoling themselves with that fact to keep themselves from starting to cry again. Their face wasn’t red from tears anymore but when Emkay had answered Frisk at the front door, he didn’t need to know Frisk had been crying to be able to tell that Frisk’s confession hadn’t gone as well as they had hoped for.

“Wait, so that’s what you guys were talking about before? Frisk has a crush on Chara?” came Elmay’s soft voice, which reached up to Frisk and Emkay from beneath the coffee table in front of the couch. Emkay’s sister laid on her stomach beneath it, with clawed feet poking out near where Emkay and Frisk sat. Mew Mew Kissy Cutie was on the TV in front of her, and Frisk found both the background noise and the promise that Elmay would be paying more attention to her anime than their sorta-private story reassuring. Frisk wondered silently as they looked up how Elmay had even heard them over the TV and whatever she was listening to through her headphones.

But it was an old episode, and Elmay had just found something much more interesting than anime reruns. She squirmed around, wriggling beneath the coffee table until she had crawled her way around to face Frisk and her brother. “Crushes are gross, Frisk. Why’re you worrying so much about it?” asked the youngest child innocently.

Frisk smiled slightly at Elmay’s question, but Emkay was quicker on the draw with an answer. “You’re too young to understand…” he said teasingly, ignoring the frown his comment drew from his sister, “This is big kid stuff, yo.” Elmay stuck her tongue out at her brother with an emphatic “Bleh!” and Frisk giggled quietly to themselves. Frisk could tell Emkay was caught off-guard by his sister’s eavesdropping too, and he probably wouldn’t have been so quick to poke fun at Elmay if the subject of _his_ crush had come up in their conversation.

“But why Chara? They’re kinda scary, ya’know.” Frisk was surprised by the blunt question, and even though Emkay looked about ready to playfully chastise his sister for being rude again Frisk guessed from his hesitation that he was curious too. Frisk decided to spare Elmay from her brother’s admonishment by answering.

“Chara’s not really that scary,” they started, unfolding their arms and legs as they explained with an amused smile, “they just want everyone at school to think they are.” Chara was surprisingly sensitive to the opinions of others, though Frisk had no room to judge in that department.

Emkay already understood this, but Elmay just looked up at Frisk with a puzzled face. “What? Why do they want that? Who would want everyone to be scared of them?” It was, truthfully, a little strange to Frisk too, who was generally beloved by their classmates and liked it that way. But Chara had their reasons and Frisk respected that.

“Chara thinks that if they’re scary, no one will bother them.” Frisk elaborated. They recalled that Chara had once told them something different in the Underground- “ _If you're cuter, monsters won't hit you as hard._ ” -but Chara never seemed interested in aiming for cute themselves, despite the fact that Chara had been right. Frisk thought Chara looked cute most of the time anyway, so maybe it just didn’t work as well for Chara as it did for Frisk. “So Chara picks fights and acts mean sometimes, even though they’re not actually mean… Well, not really mean, at least… Chara is actually really nice if you get to know them though. Promise!”

The explanation didn’t really seem to be enough for Elmay, and Frisk got the impression that if she had arms she would be scratching her head as she spoke. “Wait, but that doesn’t make sense. What about when they beat up that bigger kid from 4A earlier this year?” asked Elmay, with a genuineness Frisk found endearing. Some people were quick to simply write Chara off as a bully, no matter what Frisk had to say in their defense, which was admittedly exactly what Chara wanted. Even though Elmay only barely knew the Dreemurr kids through her brother, she seemed to be giving Chara the benefit of the doubt. “If they’re just pretending to be mean, then why’d they fight someone?”

The reminder of Chara’s fight at school made Frisk laugh nervously. Toriel had definitely _not_ been happy about that one, even if Chara had a reason for it. Chara had ended up grounded and suspended for a week, and they weren’t suppose to get any dessert either. They did anyway, since Asriel and Frisk both sneaked Chara some of theirs, but that was besides the point. “Oh, you mean… Jason?” offered Emkay, pulling the name of Chara’s victim out of his memory after a beat. Elmay shrugged- Jason? Jackson? Johnson? It was something like that.

“Yeah, it was Jason.” supplied Frisk with a nod. “And they only beat up Jason because he was picking on Carl and Jerry.”

At the mention of Carl and Jerry, Elmay winced. That was rude too, but… Frisk kind of understood. Nobody except Carl got along with Jerry and vice versa. Frisk was happy that Jerry had made a real friend on the surface, but unfortunately the both of them together were twice as obnoxious as they were alone. Still, neither of them deserved to be bullied.

Emkay noticed Elmay’s reaction too and practically echoed a Frisk's thoughts aloud. “Yo, I know they’re annoying Sis, but Jason was being really mean to them. He kept making fun of them for looking weird... and he took their lunch money a couple of times too.” It seemed like this was new news to Elmay, which was hardly surprising. Chara didn’t want word to get around that they beat up Jason for any reason except him being in their way, while Jerry and Carl never actually thanked Chara for getting him to back off and Jason certainly wasn't interested in talking to anyone about how he got beat up by someone hardly half his size. “So it was actually for a good reason, dude! And it was super cool too… Chara jumped up in the air to punch him right in the face! I want to be able to beat people up like that someday too, but… I have to jump a lot higher to kick someone’s face.”

Oh, yeah. That part was super cool; even Frisk had to admit that. Frisk felt a tickle of amusement as they listened to Emkay talk about Chara when they realized it was the same way he use to gush about Undyne back when they'd first met in the Underground. Chara acted like they didn’t care much for the praise, but Frisk hadn't failed to notice the little pep in their step when Emkay followed Chara around after they came back from suspension, talking about how awesome Chara’s moves were. Elmay wasn’t there to see the fight, but Frisk thought the younger child looked a little impressed as her brother recounted the fight.

That faintly awed look faded smoothly into confusion before Elmay asked another question. “Wait, but Jerry and Carl suck. Chara doesn’t even like them, right? So why’d Chara help them?” Even Frisk couldn’t help but snort with amusement at a diss that cold. Emkay, ever the diligent brother, managed to hide his grin as he shook his head at his sister. “Dude, Sis, you shouldn’t say stuff like that.” Even still, his chastisement was half-hearted and judging from Elmay’s pleased grin, she knew it too. That didn’t stop her from sticking her tongue out dismissively at her brother, though.

Frisk stifled their laughter because they wanted to treat this subject seriously. Even if Chara wanted to scare their classmates, Frisk thought it would be good to have at least a few people that understood them a bit better. “You’re right though, Chara definitely doesn’t like Carl and Jerry. But they still stuck up for them, because what Jason was doing was wrong. And even if Chara had to be meaner to make him stop, that’s what they’d do to help another kid that’s in trouble.” Frisk wasn’t quite so sure Chara would have still done it if Jason were a monster and Jerry was a human, but getting Chara to warm up to other humans was still a work in progress for Frisk. Emkay nodded his head next to Frisk, adding on after a pause, “See? Chara is cool, yo.”

The two of them watched Elmay as she visibly considered this new information, her face scrunched thoughtfully. Eventually satisfied, the young monster child nodded back to Emkay. “Okay. Maybe you’re right. Chara’s not really scary if you haven’t done anything bad. They’re like a hero that beats up bullies!” Elmay was excited as they sounded out this new revelation, and Frisk grinned at the notion that they’d just turned another person to Chara’s side- their crush would be annoyed with them in the best sort of way when they found out. They could already see the way Chara would sigh with exasperation when Frisk told them and try to pretend they weren’t at least a little pleased that someone else had figured out how cool they were. Maybe Frisk could tease Chara about it if they went out on that date Frisk still had to ask about? No, no, you weren’t suppose to talk about other people when you were on a date, right?

Frisk didn’t even notice the way a faint blush had started to warm their face until Elmay called attention to it with a gasp and a giggle. “Hey! You’re thinking about doing mushy stuff with Chara now, aren’t you?” Emkay’s sister was surprisingly perceptive, especially for someone who kept a pair of headphones on all the time. Frisk pulled back slightly in alarm, embarrassed more because Elmay was right than because of where their thoughts had gone. “No! That’s not what I was I thinking about!” Frisk defended, but being called out had deepened their flushing in a way that only made them seem more guilty.

Even Emkay couldn’t resist getting in on teasing Frisk this time, and he gave Frisk a goofy smile while standing up. “No way dude, Sis has you nailed!”

Frisk groaned, but they were smiling despite themselves. “Not you too, Emkay…” they moaned, as they covered their face. Frisk needed a way out of this situation now, or else things could only get worse. “Hey, Elmay!” started Frisk as they desperately fished around in their mind for anything they could use to save themselves. “Did you know… Did you know Chara is actually a big Mew Mew Kissy Cutie fan too?”

There was a loud thud as Elmay’s head hit the underside of the coffee table. She hardly seemed to notice as she shot up with stars in her eyes. “What? Really!? Chara likes Mew Mew Kissy Cutie too!? No way!” she exclaimed with an air of scandal mixed with the particular kind of glee only an enthusiastic fan can muster. Even Emkay seemed surprised- and distracted, more importantly- by the secret Frisk had just divulged. “Whoa dude, you serious? I didn’t think Chara was into that kind of stuff, yo!”

Frisk considered their mission accomplished as they stood up from the floor and dusted their bottom off. “Oh yeah! Chara even has a Mew Mew Kissy Cutie poster in our bedroom!” There was trying to convince other people that Chara wasn’t such a bad person, and there was just selling them out. Frisk apologized internally for throwing Chara under the bus even as they giggled with Elmay.

“Oh my gosh, that’s awesome! You were right Frisk, I take back what I said before. Chara’s not scary, they’re super cool!” Frisk breathed a sigh of relief, translating Elmay’s excitement as a sign that they were out of the fire- though who knows what Chara would do when they realized Frisk let _that_ secret out? “Oh! Wait here Frisk! I got just got that old Mew Mew Kissy Cutie video game a couple weeks ago, let me show it to you!”

Elmay dashed off towards the hall to her bedroom, and Emkay rolled his eyes as he and Frisk watched her go. “Dude…” he started with a trace of mirth hanging on his voice, “You’ve done it now! She’s probably going to want to spend the whole rest of your time here playing that game with us now, yo.” Frisk frowned at the muffled thud of Elmay falling on her face in the hall as they watched with lidded eyes for their return. “I think that’s okay. It’d be good to get my mind off Chara for a bit anyway.” returned Frisk.

“Elmay really likes Mew Mew Kissy Cutie though, doesn’t she?”

“Dude, you have NO idea.”

“Hm. I should introduce her to someone else I know that likes it sometime.”

Once Elmay returned with the game’s case carefully pinned between their chest and their chin, the three children quickly set about getting the game turned on and from there, the afternoon continued in a blur of anime-styled cutscenes and intense bullet hell action.

* * *

A couple hours and many game overs later, Frisk looked up at the clock and realized it was time to go. Elmay seemed sad to see their more enthusiastic gaming partner leave, but Frisk promised to come back another time to play with her. Frisk was surprised to find the game was so hard, but it was fun despite that. It actually seemed like the kind of thing Chara would enjoy, but… Frisk wasn’t ready to promise they would bring Chara to come play Elmay’s game too. Not before they’d had a chance to see what Chara had decided about their feelings. If Chara decided they didn’t feel the same way, it would be too dreadfully awkward for Frisk to go anywhere with Chara.

The two monster children saw Frisk off with one-sided hugs and enthusiastic wishes for good luck with Chara. Frisk appreciated it, of course, but they weren’t sure if luck had anything to do with it. They _technically_ hadn’t asked Chara out yet, but Frisk felt sure that by now Chara would have figured out what Frisk was going to ask them next and hopefully their answer to Frisk’s question too. Frisk had managed to enjoy themselves killing some time with Emkay and Elmay, but the suspense really was killing them.

The Sun was still up in the sky and wouldn’t be setting for a few more hours, so Frisk was able to walk themselves home accompanied only by the nervous swarm of butterflies that had recently made a home for themselves out of Frisk’s stomach. Frisk was entirely certain that they were tired of these rude butterflies who didn’t even consider how they made Frisk feel with their fluttery doubts and quiet, anxious unease, but there was only one way to get rid of them once and for all.

Frisk stopped at the side of the yard in front of the Dreemurr house to stare at their home, with its cream-colored walls and purple trim. The house didn’t look much like either of the ones the Dreemurrs had back in the Underground, but everyone had seemed surprisingly okay with that. Asgore’s house was different, too. Everyone had been ready for a new start in a new place… except for Chara. Looking at the house and thinking about how different it was from the building back in Home and New Home made Frisk remember how Chara had hesitated at the idea of leaving the Underground to go somewhere new. They’d been reluctant about the idea of finally regaining a corporeal body too, at first. And the idea about the three of them going to school in an actual classroom instead of by home-schooling.

Chara didn’t like sudden changes in their life, Frisk considered, and they had just dropped a very sudden change on Chara a scant few hours ago. But somehow, Frisk couldn’t find it in themselves to feel guilty about it. No, bottling up those emotions in hopes of maintaining the status quo had been doing them no good. Trying to pretend they didn’t exist had only made them become progressively harder to ignore. For good or ill, telling Chara about their feelings had been something Frisk would have had to do eventually, and now that the gears had been set in motion Frisk was determined to follow this through to the conclusion. Frisk frowned slightly as they stared at their home and shook their head as they snapped out of the sudden introspective musings they had stumbled into. They stepped up to the house’s wide porch and went inside.

Lost in their thoughts as they were, Frisk hadn’t noticed Chara was peeking at them from behind the curtain of the upstairs bedroom window.

Toriel and Asriel were waiting for Frisk in the living room, and immediately lifted their heads at the sound of the door opening. “My child! Welcome home!” greeted Toriel, trying but failing to maintain an air of normalcy as she swiftly came upon the much shorter human and kneeled to hug them. It was obvious that Toriel wanted to do so much more than that from the worried look in her eye and the way the sides of her mouth crinkled up in concern… But Toriel had agreed to trust Frisk and Chara to handle this situation on their own even if she did not know what it was. Hugging the boss monster and grasping her soft robes made Frisk smile, not merely comforted by their adoptive mother’s presence but proud to be given this much trust from Toriel.

“Thanks Mom,” said Frisk while disengaging from the hug, “I had a lot of fun at Emkay’s.” Toriel stood up and smiled for Frisk as Asriel trotted up beside her. “Did you? I am pleased to hear as much, Frisk.” Toriel said softly. Frisk returned the smile before looking back down to Asriel and waving awkwardly at him. “Hey Asriel, did you know Elmay has a cool Mew Mew Kissy Cutie video game? It’s super hard!” cheered Frisk flatly.

Asriel smiled back and shook his head. “Really? That sounds cool. Maybe you should take Chara to play it too the next time you go to see Elmay.” he returned with as much genuineness as he could muster. “Yeah. Maybe I should.” Frisk nodded, still smiling.

Frisk was smiling. Toriel was smiling. Asriel was smiling. Everyone was smiling. The whole room felt incredibly awkward.

Frisk sighed and acknowledged the invisible elephant in the room. “Well, I’m going to go talk to Chara now. I’ll… see you guys in a bit, I guess?” they said, stepping towards the staircase. They offered a tiny wave that their family returned, feeling as though they were about to go somewhere very far away even though it was only one room away. “That sounds like a good idea, Frisk.” said Toriel as reassuringly as possible. She still didn’t know what Chara and Frisk would be talking about, but she was determined all the same to offer both of the children any and all emotional support she could. “Good luck Frisk, I’m sure this will work out.” offered Asriel, unknowingly sharing the exact same words Emkay had last said to Frisk.

When Frisk came into the bedroom, Chara was already waiting for them, staring with a neutral expression as they sat on the side of their bed. They had resolved themselves in their decision an hour ago and waited anxiously in the bedroom for Frisk to come back since then, rehearsing lines in their head. “Um… Hi, Chara.” said Frisk meekly, as they closed the bedroom door behind them.

“Greetings, Frisk.” Frisk felt a tingle run along their spin as Chara answered, prompting them to straighten up rigidly for a moment. Of course Chara was going to speak that special soft tone they always used when they were alone with Frisk. It was so familiar to Frisk that they weren’t sure why, even in this situation, it had such an effect on them now when it never did before. It made Frisk’s heart tingle with delight and their feet itch, as if they could still turn around and leave this situation behind, pretend it none of today had happened. But no, there were no options here now in Frisk’s mind- only one path forward, one simple question that had to be asked.

So when Chara patted the spot on the bed next to them, bidding Frisk to take a seat, Frisk had already moved forward with the same thought in mind. Chara looked out to the photograph of their family and friends that Frisk kept on their bedside table across the room as the mattress dipped slightly under Frisk’s small weight. It was only because of Frisk that a picture as happy as that one could exist, and the thought filled Chara with determination.

At the same time, Frisk gathered their courage under their tongue. All they had to do was ask Chara if they wanted to go out on a date, and this tension would all be resolved. “Chara, I-“ started Frisk after letting the tense silence hang in the air for a few seconds while they selected their words.

“Frisk, will you go out with me?” said Chara abruptly, head spinning to lock gaze with Frisk as their eyes widened with surprise. Frisk’s heart skipped one beat in surprise and almost skipped a second in relief, and for a moment the savior of the Underground paled.

“I- what?” stumbled Frisk. Their mind screamed at them to say yes but their mouth- their whole body- felt numb. Chara, as calm and passive as ever, began to repeat the question but Frisk recovered after a moment and interrupted them in turn. “Yes! Yes I will, Chara!” Frisk exclaimed, hands shooting up to clutch the air in front of them as they beamed with excitement. Relief to weeks of bottled up tensions and anxieties flooded Frisk and it was all they could do to keep from tackling Chara into the bed with a full-body hug.

Chara met Frisk’s wide grin with a gentle smile that only made Frisk smile harder because they knew this was what Chara’s _real_ smile looked like.

“Good. I am glad we had this discussion.” said Chara playfully as they moved to get up. Frisk grabbed for the loose sleeve of their summer shirt with a wild look on their face before Chara could start for the door. “W-wait, Chara! That can’t be it!” objected Frisk, only prompting Chara hum softly with amusement. “No, I suppose it can’t be, can it?” The flustered younger child shot up to stand in front of the smug older child with hands fluttering at their sides. Chara thought it was cute.

“Oh my gosh Chara, what the heck!?” said Frisk, still grinning like a buffoon as they finally fully caught up with the situation. “How could you ask _me_ out when you had to know I wanted to ask _you_ out!?” accused Frisk. They didn’t have it in them to be angry right now- joy and love and excitement still streaked through them like fireworks- but Frisk was just the tiniest bit annoyed that after all the trouble they went to with hyping themselves up for this, Chara would steal their thunder like that.

Chara closed one eye and turned their chin to gaze triumphantly at Frisk. “Well,” they started with an air of conceit, “it wouldn’t do for me to let you be the one to take the initiative, would it Frisk?” The other child playfully shoved Chara, who finally couldn’t help but snicker and then laugh as they stumbled back. Despite themselves, Frisk laughed with Chara at the way all the tension and gravitas had drained from the situation. “My reputation would be ruined if anyone found out I waited for you to ask me out.” added Chara, still feeling entirely in control of the situation. “Besides that, there was another reason I had to be the one to ask you. There’s a certain place I have in mind for our date.”

Frisk let that last word roll around in their head for a bit as they relaxed, stepping back to lean against the post at the foot of Chara’s bed while pawing pleasantly at their cheeks. Date. _Date_. Chara. _Chara._ Date _with_ Chara. But then they thought about the other words Chara said, and they looked up from their hands. “Wait, what? Where do you want to go, Chara? I was going to take you to Muffet’s bakery, but…”

“It’s a secret!” teased Chara, shaking their head slightly to deny Frisk an answer, but they paused in thought before continuing. “We can still stop for a while at Muffet’s, if you want.” Chara announced suddenly. Muffet’s baked goods were amazing- Toriel edged out a victory on pies but Muffet was the undefeatable champion when it came to cakes and small pastries- but terribly expensive. Even one of Muffet’s smaller chocolate cakes could set Chara back a month’s worth of allowance.

However, Frisk and Frisk alone always received a special discount at Muffet’s bakery, half an apology from Muffet for giving Frisk a hard time when they first met and half for being such a wonderful and _generous_ dear to the spider clans. Chara would protest the exclusiveness of Frisk’s treatment with the fact that they were technically there for all of that too, but that would require them to explain to Muffet some stories that weren’t worth telling even for all of the chocolate cakes in the world.

Leveraging their discount and Chara’s love of chocolate against them… Frisk had given this more thought that Chara expected and in some other kind of situation, Chara might have even described Frisk's choice as devious. But even Muffet’s bakery wouldn’t top what they had in mind.

Frisk didn’t seem mollified by merely being told their date could stop at Muffet’s bakery along the way. “Aw, come on Chara, can’t you give me a hint at least?” they asked, inquiring about the special place Chara had in mind. Chara was determined not to buckle however and put their hands on their hips as they shook their head again. “No, Frisk. No hints. I want to surprise you, but I promise you will love it.”

Frisk made a show of deflating slightly and groaning with disappointment in hopes of getting Chara to spill the beans, but even their curiosity about Chara’s secret date destination couldn’t kill their elation at having a date in the first place. Frisk found themselves smiling again and they stared pointedly at Chara. The older child faltered slightly under the enthusiasm of their gaze. “What… are you smiling about now, Frisk?” they said slowly while raising a single brow.

“We’re _datemates_ now, Chara.” said Frisk suggestively, enunciating the word with careful emphasis. “I can flirt with you again now!” Chara groaned and face palmed as Frisk wiggled their eyebrows at them. “Goddammit,” swore Chara half-heartedly, “I've made a terrible mistake.” Frisk would have been heartbroken if they couldn’t tell Chara didn’t mean it.

The first fallen human is quick to recover in order to cut off whatever embarrassing remark Chara knew must be on the tip of Frisk’s tongue. “Wait,” Chara interjected, “is this why you stopped flirting with me? Because you realized you like… love me?” They peeked out from behind their hands to see Frisk nodding slowly with a bashful smile. “Oh my god Frisk,” said Chara incredulously, “you are the most bizarre person I have ever met.”

All the same, Chara chuckles and smiles before sighing fondly. But their smile morphed slowly to a frown as they avoided looking at Frisk. It didn’t escape their new datemate’s notice, and Frisk followed Chara’s gaze down to their bed. Chara sat back down and spoke again, but still avoided looking at Frisk. “To tell the truth, Frisk… I’m still not entirely sure how I feel.”

Frisk really didn’t know how to react to that. They thought briefly that a remark like that should sting, but it didn’t. It confused them just as surely as if Chara had mumbled gibberish at them. “What?”

Chara sighed again before they looked to Frisk, their features soft but not sad. “What I mean is that I am still uncertain if I can be… together with you.” They weren’t speaking with that lullaby voice anymore, and Chara winced even as they put the mask of a smile back on. This was not something they wanted to tell Frisk and they could see from the confusion on Frisk’s face that it wasn’t something they wanted to hear. It hurt to say this, but Chara knew it would be unfair of them not to be up-front about their feelings, as best as they could understand them.

“I spent a lot of time considering about what it would feel like for me to court you, Frisk. I still do not understand exactly what these feelings I have are. But when I thought about it, about you and I… together, I realized that at the very least I cannot imagine myself dating anybody _but_ you.” The reassurance brought a small hint of a smile back to Frisk’s face. “So I want you to know that I am not doing this to lead you on. I have decided to go out with you because I think there might be something for us together and…” Chara paused, having ran their script to an end long ago in this conversation. “I don’t know what will happen, but I want to try this. I want to try this together with you because I do not believe there is anyone else I could possibly try this with except you.”

Frisk sighed wistfully, but they smiled too. “Chara… It means a lot to me for you to say that. I’m glad you’re being honest with me, and I’m glad you’re giving me a chance.” The look Frisk gave Chara made their heart melt, and they considered (not for the first time in this conversation) that perhaps this really could work. When they returned Frisk’s smile, it had turned back into a real smile again, the soft and small turn at the edges of Chara’s lips that only subtly differed from a neutral expression.

“And I’m glad you’re understanding, Frisk. You are always _so_ understanding.” Chara shook their head and scoffed, but they could feel themselves almost getting a little misty. “I don’t get it. That was such a terrible thing for me to wait this long to tell you, but you’re still thanking me for it. How are you like this?” Frisk could only shrug wordlessly in response before sitting down next to Chara on the bed again.

The two stayed like that for a few minutes, not talking, just quietly enjoying each other’s presence. Finally, Frisk broke the silence as they turned to the other one. “Chara, can I hug you?” The older child considered the request for a moment. Today had been an emotional roller coaster, and the last few minutes especially. They felt themselves twitch uncomfortably at the thought of a hug. “I’m sorry Frisk, I’m not ready for a hug right now.” Chara said awkwardly with an apologetic look. They wanted to hug Frisk right now, they really did because they knew Frisk needed some affectionate reassurance now, but they didn’t entirely trust their body not to push Frisk away in reflex and they would rather Frisk not hug them at all than try to hug them and fail.

As always, Frisk understood. They nodded and tried to smile for Chara, because even when Chara pushed them away or hurt them, they understood.

Damn it.

Chara cursed themselves mentally before willing their hand to move. In a careful motion, Chara laid their hand over Frisk’s before lacing their fingers together. This much, at least, Chara could handle; this much, _at least_ , Frisk deserved. It was enough to make Frisk’s smile a little bit more real and after sharing a short moment of silent affection for one another, the two kids stood up from the bed in unison.

“So… We should probably go tell Toriel and Azzy now, right?” said Frisk slowly. “Yeah. We should. We’ve gotten so quiet now that they must be worried I’ve killed you by now.” joked Chara, blushing nervously because of the warm feeling spreading through them. They had held Frisk’s hand plenty of times before. Was it always this warm? Chara didn’t think so.

As Frisk led Chara hand-in-hand to the door, Chara considered that maybe they did like this particular feeling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for sticking with me so far in this story. We're more than half way done now, isn't that exciting? And we're finally getting into real romance, too! Like I mentioned in the earlier author notes at the start of this chapter, I'm very pleased with this chapter. This is the first real romantic scene I've ever written, so for it to turn out decently makes me happy. I was also able to use this chapter to better explain the way Chara behaves at school, which is something I felt I had done an inadequate job of in the previous chapters.
> 
> Please leave behind whatever thoughts you have about this chapter in the comments below- I'll be sure to respond!


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